Asses can be stubborn!

Sometimes, I think medicine is just being re learnt and that our ancestors knew everything there was to know, without the genetic testing and millions in research being spent today. All they did was study nature.

Take for instance the fact that Asses are the most stubborn creatures out there! Now, I know you're thinking what the hell does this have to do with medicine. I'm getting there...

A Pilonidal sinus (a small opening at the cleft of the buttocks which usually results from hair in that area getting into the skin and causing an infection and a break in the skin) is an incredibly intelligent disease which chooses that particular region of the body which would be the most stubborn to heal (namely the Ass). It is more common in males (more males are asses than females), has been known as jeep's bottom and truck driver's disease (these particular male drivers are known to behave like asses) and occurs in hairy young men and hardly ever once you cross the age of 40 (need I say more).

Over the years, I've seen patients with pilonidal sinuses getting operated, choosing conservative treatments, trying ayurveda and homeopathy, lasers, photocoagualtion, cryosurgery and everything else you can think of. It just does not heal and though the recommended treatment is surgery, there is a 20% chance of it recurring. This increases if you close the wound. So what I'm saying is that it needs to be left open to heal, which can take about 8 weeks. 8 weeks of discharge, slime, pus, hair, blood with no riding on a bike or driving a car. Stubborn isn't it.

Funnily enough, the thought that came to my mind when I first read about it was whether the ass in humans was named after asses in nature based on this disease? Another thing, asses almost never ever suffer from pilonidal sinuses. So, who's the real ass here??